Release Day Character Interview: Two Weeks To Life by John Charles (Fated Soulmates Book 4)

Blurb:
After thirty years on the force, Detective Carl Bellwin thought he’d seen it all. He had developed a protective shield around himself, keeping the rape, murder, drugs, and other crimes compartmentalized and away from his emotions. He didn’t have time to date, didn’t have time to socialize, and didn’t have time for hobbies. The force was his life, but his protective shield was crumbling.

An innocent girl was missing. Her single mother grieved, wondering if she would be planning a funeral. The seedy part of Clarkesburgh had become the hunting ground for a gang that kidnapped teens off the street, forced retailers to launder money and sell their drugs, and victimized anyone who stood in their way. Carl, at whits end, had no leads.

Elijah Quinta traded one high stress job for another. Purchasing a bankrupt Inn and developing it into a five star resort became more than his full time job: The Bliss Inn became his life. Though he tried, anyone he dated accused him of having a mistress. They were right; he was married to the inn.

Carl never thought attending his nephew’s wedding would change his life. For the first time, he realized what he was missing. Everything he thought was important faded into the background. When he met Elijah, Carl’s life took on a new meaning.

Could he turn Two Weeks To Life? Could he let go of the only world he had ever known?

Each book in The Fated Soulmates series is a standalone novel with no cliffhangers and a Happy Ever After (HEA) ending

Character Interview:
Molly: What is your biggest failure to date?Carl: Not realizing I was gay until after my marriage. Thankfully my wife of two years was strong enough to understand that they really didn’t have the kind of relationship to last and they split amicably.

At that time, I didn’t reveal that I was gay during the divorce, it was nobody’s business, but inside feared repercussions from many of the bigoted members of the force.

A choice few know that I’m gay, but the social stigma has changed a bit. Many cops still don’t look favorably on gays, especially in their ranks.
Molly: What is your biggest success to date?Carl: Being appointed detective after five years on the force. Usually that kind of appointment took at least ten years, but I did it in half that time.
Molly: What is your biggest trauma to date?Carl: Losing my father to cancer. I was close to my mother but my father, brother and I were stuck like glue. We did everything together.

When they found cancer, my father didn’t want to tell us boys, but my mother confided in me. I pulled it out of my father. For three years, my family catered to his treatments, to no avail. Dad died at young. That traumatized my mother, brother and me for quite some time.
Molly: What did you want to be when you were a kid?Carl: I always knew I wanted to be a cop. My grandfather was a cop and I always admired him in uniform. My father was dead set against it, but eventually told me to do what I felt was right for me.

What I didn’t know was the force would become my life. It’s been over thirty years since I first walked into the academy and now I wonder what I would do with myself if forced to retire.
Molly: What do you value the most in your friends?Carl: Integrity. To me, integrity is the most important trait a person can have whether in a friend, co-worker, or boss.
Molly: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?Carl: I think I’d change or try to change how I approach my job. Yeah I always wanted to be a cop, but being one, especially a detective, has caused me personal pain. Whenever I tried to develop a relationship, my partner felt as if he were second to my job. He never felt as if he were important to me as my life has always revolved around my work.
Molly: What word or phrase do you overuse?Carl: That’s simple. “When I Retire.” I say that all the time when anything that I want or like seems to be taking hold of me. I put everything off “Until I Retire”
Molly: What are your biggest fears?Carl: Dying like my father did of cancer that took over his entire body in less than two years

Second is living alone for the rest of my life and not having anything to do after I retire.

About John:
As a youngster, I not only had trouble reading, I couldn’t string two sentences together. Reading was a chore, but I had to read for school and work. In my sophomore year of college, with the help of my aunt and several courses I learned to get past my, until then undiagnosed, dyslexia. After that, reading actually started to become fun. Now I read constantly.

My desire to become an author developed through the years as my own children grew. We read books every night. When they were little I read to them. As they grew, and learned how to read, they read to me.

We congregated on the couch, or on one of their beds, and read stories together. It was fun, crazy, and sometimes frustrating. There were times when schedules made group reading difficult, but individual sessions were managed most nights.

During those years of family growth, I developed the desire to write my own books. Initially I thought about writing children’s books – and developed outlines for a couple of them. As my children grew and began reading different genres, my desires changed, too.

Then I discovered the gay themed mystery – I couldn’t get enough.

I started writing gay (male/male) themed novels, using my pen name John Charles and never looked back. I find developing a character that is passionate about his life and the life of his lover is a turn on to many readers as well as to me. So I try to develop that passion in my books and endeavor to make each character special.

The plots in my novels come from real life situations. I have always believed that real life is more interesting than anything a person could make up. I listen, keep my eyes open, and let the world give me the ideas that make my stories believable and interesting.

I find myself enjoying writing more than anything I’ve ever done in my life.